Tanzania: Three Meals a Day, Thanks to Kitchen Gardens
Action Against Hunger supports small scale farmers to fight hunger.
By Salome Gregory
Action Against Hunger
November 14, 2023
Excerpt:
Two years ago, before Salama Madinda started her kitchen garden, she could only afford two meals a day for her family of four in their village of Ving’awe, Tanzania.
Salama, 53, and her family would eat breakfast at 11 a.m. and wait to eat their dinner at 8 p.m.
This all changed when Salama’s friend made a call.
“A friend called and invited me to learn about different activities done by the community health worker in the next village. I learned how to prepare special foods for children under five years of age. I also learned how to use the small area I have at home to plant different types of vegetables,” says Salama.
After the training, Salama utilized her new farming skills and began mixing soil and manure to ready her land for planting. Her garden bloomed, and it became the talk of the street.
Now, the family eats three full meals a day.
Action Against Hunger provided Salama with a variety of vegetable seeds, a water tank, watering cans, and a dryer for preserving vegetables to be used during dry seasons.
“The support from Action Against Hunger helped me get more vegetables. I started selling them in the next few villages. People buy them, which helps us get money for breakfast, and the rest of the money generated from markets helps my family buy other necessities” —Salama
Salama believes in leaving no one behind. She wanted to share what she’d learned and started an initiative to train other women in her community. They formed a group called “Tupendane” (“let’s love each other” in Swahili) — 32 women who support one another and work together to prepare their gardens and plant vegetables.
